Grocery Stores
by: Jenine Gay Being on the meal plan is great, however there are times when students have a taste for something different. They want to prepare their own meal or make their own snacks. Knowing where to shop for groceries is important for incoming freshmen to know. On this page new students will learn what stores are available for grocery shopping, where they are located, and what makes them unique.There will also be student and customer reviews on the stores stating their store preferences and why they prefer them. 800px-Kroger_sign,_Clintonville,_Columbus,_OH.jpg|Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons 800px-Target_store-Springfield-2005-10-15.jpg|Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons 800px-Piggly_Wiggly,_Springhill,_LA_IMG_5152.JPG|Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons 800px-Walmart_exterior.jpg wikimedia.jpg|Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons David_City_Rey_grocery_store.jpg|Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Superstores Walmart and Target are two superstores that are located near the University of Georgia.These two stores sell everything from food, clothing, cooking utensils, appliances, toiletries,furnishings, electronics, medicine, and pet supplies all in one store. Students like shopping at Target and Walmart because they are able to buy many different necessities at once at reasonable prices. Whenever students need to restock on clothes, school supplies, toiletries, or food they make a one-stop trip to Walmart or Target. Directions The Target closest to our campus is at 620 Hawthorne Avenue which is approximately three miles from campus by car. Freshmen with cars should take South Finley Street, make a left onto West Broad Street and continue to drive until Hawthorne Avenue is reached. Make a right onto Hawthorne Avenue and Target will be located on the right. Students who do not have cars can take the Athens Transit city bus. To get to Target you will get on the "Prince Avenue" route on Baxter Street and take it Hawthorne Avenue. The Walmart closest to the dorms is at 1911 Epps Bridge Parkway which is approximately five miles by car.To get to Walmart students should take South Finley Street to West Broad Street and make a left. Students should then merge onto Epps Bridge Parkway, where the Walmart is located. Students who will ride the bus should take the Broad Street/Atlanta Highway route on Baxter Street to Epps Bridge Parkway. Student Interviews After interviewing UGA freshmen it is apparent that convenience often determines where students shop,especially for those who are not car owners. Like many freshman, Julie Katz stated that prices never play a role in choosing Target over Walmart, " I shop here alot because it's closer, which is important to me because I have to take the bus." Shopping at the superstores is time saving because customers can buy a variety of things in one trip. Freshman Alex Hill loves this aspect of the stores, " Whenever I run out of snacks I'll go to Walmart or Target to buy some more. However, I always buy extra things like socks, washing powder, and even things for my room. Stores like Walmart and Target save me alot of time because I can get just about everything there rather than go to different stores for different things." However, not every freshman is concerned with convenience. Freshman Marlo Brown, a car owner, feels that prices are just as important and prefers to shop at Walmart over Target. She stated, "Target is closer, but I like shopping at Walmart because the prices are cheaper than Target. Even if I didn't have a car, I would take the bus to Walmart because their products are less expensive." Although students have their own reasons for the preference, Walmart and Target are very similar and are both useful places to shop due to their assortment of items and their long store hours. Food Markets There are a lot of freshmen that use Bulldog Bucks cards instead of cash. Like debit cards, money is stored in the Bulldog Bucks account for use. Kroger and Piggly Wiggly are the only two food market chains in Athens that accept the bulldog bucks card. Both food markets sell the usual grocery food products and has pharamacies where students can pick up their medication. Out of the two, Kroger is the food market of choice it is closer to campus than any of the Piggly Wiggly locations. Generally, Kroger and Piggly Wiggly are less crowded than Walmart and Target. Directions A car ride to Kroger is about two miles away from campus and is located at 191 Alps Road. Students with cars will take South Finley Street to West Broad Street and make a left.They will continue on West Broad Street and make a left on Alps Road where the Kroger is located on the left. Students who ride the bus will take "Prince Avenue" of the Athens Transit from Baxter Street to the Beechwood Shopping Center. The closest Piggly Wiggly is located on Lexington Road which is about 4 miles from campus. To get to Piggly Wiggly students will need to take South Finley Street to West Broad Street where they will make a right and continue until they reach Lexington Road (Piggly Wiggly is on the right). Students will board the "Lexington Road" route on Broad Street to get to Lexington Road where Piggly Wiggly is located. Student Interviews As stated before, convenience often determines where students shop. Therefore many of the freshmen here prefer to shop at Kroger. Stephanie Williams, a freshman at UGA, said, "My hallmates and I shop at Kroger more than any other grocery store, because it is very close to campus. My roomate has a car so we ride to Kroger with her, but if she can not take us then we take the short bus ride." There are some freshmen, like Alex Thomas,that shop at Kroger because it is close, and accept Bulldog Bucks. "I shop at Kroger alot because I can use my Bulldog Bucks to buy groceries and its close enough for me to take the bus to go there and back." Organic Food Market Students who like to eat healthy food should shop at Earth Fare. Located at 1689 South Lumpkin Street, Earth Fare only sells "organic" and "all-natural" products. Here, customers will find a deli that sells food like fresh sandwiches, asparagus salad, fish, grilled salmon, and oriental noodles. There is also a "Snackland" section that contains healthy snacks such as dried fruit, all-natural trail mix, and natural gourmet jellybeans. All of the milk sold here is either soy milk or coconut milk. Many of the juices here are from the "Simply" brand (Simply Lemonade,Simply Orange Juice) which consists of "not-from-concentrate" fruit juice. Earth Fare also has a section that sells ethnic products such as tofu and couscous. Even the body care products are organic. They contain vitamins and herbs, but no artificial colors, fillers, or sweetners. Directions Earth Fare is a two mile drive from the resident halls. To get to Earth Fare students have to take South Finley Street to South Lumpkin Street and make a right. They will continue on South Lumpkin Street to the Earth Fare location on the left. Bus riders will have to take the "Five Points" bus route from the Tate Center to Five Points rather than catch the bus from Baxter Street. Customer Interviews Although Earth Fare is not as popular among freshmen students as the other stores, it is still a great place to shop for natural,organic products.It is the closest organic food market to campus. Earth Fare customers raved about the store, mainly because of their nutritious products. One customer, Michael Ford, credits Earth Fare for changing his diet. He said, " I've been shopping here for a while and consuming organic food is different than consuming non-organic food. Organic food is more beneficial to my health and makes me feel more rejuvinated than non-organic food." Another customer had a simliar comment as Ford. Jane Smith said, "I've been an organic eater for the past three years and I feel alot more energized, than before. I never realized how sluggish non-organic food made me feel until I made the transition...limiting myself to organic food was a wise decision." Works Cited Athens-Clarke County. www.athenstransit.com. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. Brown, Marlo. Personal Interview. 31 Oct. 2011. Earth Fare, Inc. www.earthfare.com. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Fruit image.commons.wikimedia.org. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Ford, Michael. Personal Interview. 31 Oct. 2011. Hill, Alex. Personal Interview. 2 Nov. 2011. Katz, Julie. Personal Interview. 1 Nov. 2011. Kroger image.commons.wikimedia.org. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011 n.p. www.mapquest. com. 2011. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Piggly Wiggly Image.commons.wikimedia.org. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011 Piggly Wiggly, Inc. www. pigglywiggly.com. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. Smith, Jane. Personal Interview. 1 Nov. 2011. Target Brands, Inc. www.target.com. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Target Image.commons.wikimedia.org. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011 The Kroger Co. www.kroger.com. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. Thomas, Alex.Personal Interview. 2 Nov. 2011. Walmart Image. commons.wikimedia.org. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011 Wal-mart Stores,Inc. www. walmart com. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Williams, Stephanie. Personal Interview. 3 Nov. 2011. . Category:Shopping